Richard Burkart grows his high-quality organic peaches and nectarines on 65 acres near Dinuba along the northern border of Tulare County about 4 hours south of San Francisco.

Don’t miss out on the first delicious stone fruit of the season!

Pallet of Burkart Peaches

This variety of tomato is indeterminate, meaning it continues to get taller and that its fruit will ripen at varying times during a long period of production.  (A determinate plant is more bush-like, and will produce its fruit all at once during a short period of production).  In a couple of weeks, these bulging flowers will turn into tomatoes like this one.

I feel quite fortunate that I’ve already gotten to sample the first of these delectable treats to ripen.  Soon these plants will create a bounty of tomatoes, and I’m eager to taste the fruits of their labor.

Ben in th Heirloom tomato hoop house

SF Mayor Ed Lee and Supervisor Malia Cohen

Press Release from the Office of the Mayor, City and County of San Francisco

“The San Francisco Wholesale Produce Market has been supplying our City and region with fresh, healthy produce for 137 years. This new $100 million investment and expansion will ensure that small businesses, neighborhood grocers and anyone in the market for fresh produce for their business will continue to receive their goods from San Francisco,” said Mayor Lee. “The Market will continue to provide an economic benefit to the City and create jobs for our residents.”

“The Wholesale Produce Market has been one of the hidden gems of the City for decades,” said Supervisor Malia Cohen. The Wholesale Produce Market currently occupies 300,000 square feet of space in 10 buildings, housing 30 produce wholesalers and distributors, a restaurant, and Bank of America retail branch. The Market employs 650 full time employees and has a gross annual revenue of $500 million. Over 50 percent of these businesses have operated more than 20 years, one since 1888. The San Francisco Wholesale Produce Market provides fresh produce to local and regional grocers, specialty and upscale retailers, restaurants, hotels, caterers and convention facilities.

“This is one of the most significant days in the long history of the San Francisco Wholesale Produce Market said SF Wholesale Produce Market Governing Board President John Monfredini.  The development plan envisions a three-phase, $100 million project that will include improvement of existing streets surrounding the Market, the rerouting of Jerrold Avenue traffic to the improved side streets allowing the closure of Jerrold for the two block length of the Market, and the renovation or reconstruction of four of the Market’s existing warehouses to meet modern food-handling standards with increased capacity.  As a result, the Market can expand from 300,000 to almost 500,000 square feet, invest in the expansion of small businesses and increase economic activity to almost $1.4 billion after completion, according to a 2007 Keyser Marsten Study. The increase in modern storage and distribution facilities will allow the Market to better attract and incubate additional high-quality produce businesses, and allow the Wholesale Produce Market to meet the needs of the 21st century food industry.

Kayren Hudinburg from Good Life Grocery San Francisco

David Sperber from Town's End Restaurant San Francisco

English peas being staked

Once the plants get large enough, stakes are spaced out and driven into the ground.  Next, string is applied and the plants are tied up.  As the plants continue to grow, more string is attached.  Staked pea plants are much easier to pick from than those that are let loose, plus plants lying on the ground encourage diseases.

Staked English Peas

Like the tomato, the pea grows out of the flowers of the plant.  These English peas provide pods full of large, delightful peas.  Chris suggests that these tasty treats be simply eaten raw.

Long, beautiful and delicious English Peas

English Peas enjoy a short lived season and are at their best in spring.  Choose peas that are shiny, firm, brightly-colored pods that feel swollen and heavy.  Our first shipment of English Peas just arrived from Tutti Frutti Farms in Buellton, Southern California. They are grown in hoop houses and are picked when the peas inside the pod are fully expanded, but before they become too hard, starchy and lose their sweetness.

English Peas growing in the Tutti Frutti Hoop Houses

English peas are very nutritional, low in fat and calories but rich in protein. They should be eaten soon after buying because they lose their sweet taste and nutritional value quickly.  They can keep for up to three days when stored in a paper bag in the coldest part of the refrigerator.

One pound of peas will only yield about 1 cup of shelled peas so buy more than you think you will need.  Eat them straight out of your hand or add them in your favorite pasta, casserole or salad.  Be careful not to overcook fresh peas.  They can be lightly steamed and tossed with some olive oil, salt, and pepper if you want them to be crunchy.

Chelan Cherry Tree

We are hoping in about 10 days the first of the cherries will be ready to be harvested and shipped to Earl’s.  Most of the cherries now will be coming out of the Central Valley, think Stockton.  The recent heat is both good and bad.  Higher temperatures mean that the cherries will be harvested sooner and the sugar levels will be up. On the other hand the higher temperatures can cause earlier varieties such as the Chelan to be too soft.

Check back for more cherry updates on our website, Facebook and Twitter. 

Chelan

Chelan

Randy Windham, Gurdeep Billan

Earl, Randy and Gurdeep Billan, Double D’s Director of Sales, walked the farm before the rain storms hit.  Double D usually has an early start in the market by growing some blueberries in hoop houses, providing a natural warm climate, but unfortunately strong winds from recent storms blew them down.   Although the wind and rain pushed their start date to May 1, the blueberry bushes were really populated with fruit.

Earl and Randy

Double D’s blueberries are grown on the west side of Fresno County which is protected by a mountain ridge with its own unique microclimate.  From May to September the days can get up to 105 degrees and the nights cool off to around 74 degrees.  One of the biggest factors in successfully growing blueberries is keeping the temperature above 70 degrees.  Lower temperatures and rain can cause mildew, scarring and mushy blueberries.  Double D believes conserving water and sustainability are important.  They use the pruned blueberry branches as compost resulting in extremely fertile ground.   In addition to blueberries, Double D also grows onions, broccoli, asparagus and melons.

Double D blueberries are just starting to come on and will be in full swing by the middle of May.  This week blueberries from a variety of growers are on our weekly special.

Blueberries

On the way back to San Francisco Earl and Randy stopped briefly at Burkart for a quick walk through the stone fruit orchards. They just missed the blossoms but the ground had been mowed and turned so everything looked very clean and green.  The soil is sandy which allows water to penetrate and not just pool on top of the soil, which means less pests and of course excellent irrigation.

Peach tree

The machines are ready for harvest time and in mid –April the peaches were small and grey with a little fuzz and the nectarines were small and red.  Richard Burkart stands apart from other peach growers because he focuses on quality and picks his varieties 2,3 or even 4 times during the season to get the fruit at the most mature with the highest sugar levels.

Nectarine tree

We will continue to update you on the arrival of summer stone fruit on our website, Facebook and Twitter. Please post questions and comments on our Facebook wall.